First, I upped the Irish ante by using Irish cheddar—laced with porter. The marbled cheese gave the bread a gorgeous mottled look. The original cheddar might taste sharper, but this version still had lots of cheesiness. I can’t wait to try this cheese in my Irish cheese fondue.

Second, I switched Cabot’s salted butter to unsalted (there’s plenty of sodium in this recipe without more in the butter—and I say this as a girl who loves her salt) and used Kerrygold Irish butter.

Third, I threw in some caraway seeds. They are often used in soda bread. I find them a little strong in sweet breads, but they complement this savory recipe beautifully.

Enjoy—but eat sparingly. This bread is very filling.

And if you’re in Alexandria, Virginia, Thursday night, come sing along with me and the Montebello Singers….

Tinky – This looks like an Irish Soda Bread I could really like. (I don’t care for the raisins that are in most recipes.)
I wish I could hear you sing An Irish Lullaby – and you look fantastic in green.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and yours.

I’ll have to try your version. Yesterday, before reading your post, I made traditional Irish soda bread with raisins. I’m all Italian, but will be wearing green on Thursday. Hubby is Irish and Scottish.

On our recent trip to Ireland we got a lot of brown bread made with yeast, but no soda bread.